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The American Planning Association has designated Berkeley's Northbrae neighborhood, the home of Councilmember Laurie Capitelli, as one of "America's Great Places". From the APA website: 

APA's flagship program celebrates places of exemplary character, quality, and planning. Places are selected annually and represent the gold standard in terms of having a true sense of place, cultural and historical interest, community involvement, and a vision for tomorrow. 

APA Great Places offer better choices for where and how people work and live. They are enjoyable, safe, and desirable. They are places where people want to be — not only to visit, but to live and work every day. America's truly great streets, neighborhoods and public spaces are defined by many criteria, including architectural features, accessibility, functionality, and community involvement. 

Nestled in the rolling foothills amidst outcroppings of volcanic rock, Northbrae stands out for its spectacular vistas of San Francisco Bay, environmentally sensitive design, connections to a unique network of 136 paths and steps crisscrossing Berkeley, and two nearby commercial areas for shopping and entertainment. Built on land used for grazing cattle, Northbrae was developed by Duncan McDuffie, who envisioned a park-like neighborhood of single-family houses nestled on lots facing tree-lined streets. 

The Northbrae neighborhood is free from the highrise mixed use residential/commercial buildings of the type now envisioned by the city council as appropriate for Berkeley's flatland neighborhoods, including Downtown, Southside and West Berkeley. There are no plans to add such uses.